Transcript for President Admits 'We Don't Have a Strategy Yet' on ISIS

leading us off that glowing threat from Isis militants and the U.S. Warning about those men joining the group now. President Obama addressing the crisis in the last 24 hours and ABC's Martha Raddatz is live in Washington this morning with the very latest for us. Martha, good morning. Reporter: Good morning, David. The president is toning down his threatening language substantially. Isis released an alarming new propaganda video once again showing the utter brutality of Isis which humiliates, kills and celebrates its barbarism. The captured Syrian soldiers some 150 are stripped to their underwear forced to March across the desert after Isis fighters, their black flags flying took control of a Syrian air base. A short time later the video shows them lying dead executed but president Obama is clearly trying to tamp down the emotional response to scenes like this and the execution of James Foley. A strategy for dealing with the terror group in Syria will take time, he said, Thursday. The suggestion seems to have been that, you know, we're about to go full scale on an elaborate strategy for defeating isil. I don't want to put the cart before the horse. We don't have a strategy yet. Reporter: A stark admission since the threat of Isis has increased at an astonishing rate in the last year seizing large swaths of territory in Iraq while establishing a safe haven in nearby Syria. The Foley execution prompting the president to authorize spy planes over Syria just this week, but president Obama is now making clear that military action in Syria is not imminent. I want to make sure everybody is clear on what we're doing now, because it is limited. The options that I'm asking for from the joint chiefs focuses primarily on making sure that isil is not overrunning Iraq. Reporter: But the president's own secretary of defense says the threat from Isis is imminent to every interest we have and not just in Iraq, anywhere, David. Martha, as you know we were talking about this. I was just back from the Syrian border in Lebanon documenting the children, the refugees. We'll have that on "World news tonight" next week but these skirmishes even there, any concern about this message to Isis, to the world that the president doesn't have a strategy yet. Reporter: Well, there is, indeed. You know, the president did say he does not yet have a strategy for Syria and that is creating a lot of concern given that Isis has been gaining strength for years now, David. All right, Martha Raddatz with us this morning, Martha, thanks as always.

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